Staff Reporter.
SuperSport United coach Kaitano Tembo was delighted with his side’s passage through to the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup after they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Maritzburg United on Wednesday night.
Iqraam Rayners scored the only goal of the game two minutes from time with a neat finish that sees SuperSport advance past the last 32 for the first time since 2017.
“We started very well and dealt with their threat,” Tembo says. “We were making runs behind the three centre-backs, that gave us some joy and we had three good opportunities.
“Second half it changed a little bit, they [Maritzburg] dominated in the midfield. We showed character, that is the cornerstone of our team. We fought up until the end.”
Rayners has yet to score in the league this season, but Tembo hopes his goal can be the start of many more.
“I was happy with Iqraam, he had two good chances [that he missed] in the first half but he kept his head up and kept going. It was a good goal that he scored.
“He has to keep on working hard, there are goals in him but a little bit of consistency will go a long way. He works very hard and gives us speed going forward, he just needs to be a bit calmer in the final third.”
Tembo was also without regular forwards Thamsanqa Gabuza and Bradley Grobler.
“We always try and make sure the players are ready, so missing Gabuza and Grobler, obviously it is tough, but at the same time it gives the other guys a chance to step up and see what they can do.”
Coincidentally, SuperSport will clash with Maritzburg again in the league on Tuesday, also at the Harry Gwala Stadium.